Disclaimer: The Prince of Tennis and its characters are property of Takeshi Konomi. However, this plot and any original characters belong to McGrady. This story is rated T for language and minor sexual content.

Author's notes: Thanks to Dreaming, Fearless, Miki, Red, Nertz, Train, Three girls, Otakugal, Indistinguishable, Meeh, Lataf, Mitsu, Yuki, Synem, and Isagani for reviewing! I had some computer problems which delayed this chapter's timing significantly – sorry! And to Fearless: if you weren't a coward, then you would sign in before flaming so we could discuss my shortcomings. I've turned off anonymous reviews so no more tenuous anonymous flames will annoy me.

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"Ninety-nine percent of everything done in the world, good or bad, is done to pay a mortgage." -Nick Naylor

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Karma: How the Tables Have Turned

by McGrady

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Arrogance Disquiets Innocence

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Sakuno Ryuzaki sat at the dinner table with an open book. Absently, she was browsing the book's empty words when the room door burst open, revealing Ryoma Echizen. His aberrantly frantic aura distracted her gaze from the book. His glasses were askew, his face pale, his voice strained when he said those words.

"Sakuno! Will you go out with me?"

What?

Sakuno's eyes went wide. A shower of blankness splashed into every crevice of her mind, washing it clean of all previous thought. She stiffened in her chair, closed her book, and took another look at Ryoma. Perhaps she needed her ears checked, mused Sakuno. Or did Ryoma actually just say those words?

His heart hammering against his ribcage, Ryoma shuffled through the threshold and clumsily closed the door. He suddenly felt that Sakuno's piercing eyes gleamed eerily. His hands jammed themselves into his pockets as his weight shifted from one foot to the other. She stared at him like he was a mystery, and it made his bones quiver.

Sakuno watched him stand nervously by the door. Although he was ordinarily stoic and controlled, Ryoma was shaking at the knees. He wrung his hands uncomfortably. His restless gaze darted from her eyes, to the floor, and back to her eyes. Finally, her lips parted.

"Did you…" she began, yet she was lost for more words.

"I want to know," said Ryoma, "if you would go out with me."

"Like a date?" asked Sakuno, eyebrow raised.

Ryoma flinched at her tone. Why did she say the word "date" like it had a bad taste? He took a deep breath.

"Would you," said Ryoma, then lowering his voice to a hush, "…like to be my girlfriend…?"

Sakuno's eyes shut as she expelled a heavy sigh. She propped her elbows on the table and buried her face in her hands. As she slowly shook her head, her hair swished by her shoulders. "No, no," said Sakuno. "This isn't happening to me…"

Ryoma's nervousness was instantly replaced with worry. He dropped himself into the seat opposite of Sakuno, the table between them. Her incredulity did nothing but disquiet him endlessly.

"I should say no," said Sakuno suddenly. Her hands slid from her face to reveal a pained expression. Her arms folded themselves tightly over her chest.

Ryoma found his tongue again. "What – say no?" said Ryoma, alarmed. "Why?"

"Are you serious, Echizen?" Sakuno's countenance turned back to incredulity, but this time with a hint of insult. "You thought I'd want to be your girlfriend? You actually expected me to say yes?"

He fell silent. Truthfully, he did not expect any specific response; he only approached Sakuno because of the adrenaline rush from his professor's inspiring lecture. Ryoma slowly realized that, unlike his usual calculating self, he whimsically asked out Sakuno with no thought on the future. His mind flooded with images of their surprising reunion months ago, when she was far from thrilled to see him, and memories of their recent conversations, when he somehow only angered her. Ryoma came to a painful revelation: Sakuno Ryuzaki did not like him.

He looked into her beautiful but disbelieving eyes. They made his lungs shrink, made it hard to breathe. Her arms crossed defensively and her shoulders hunched inward made him feel unwelcome.

"I should say no," she said again quietly. "I should hate you. For the way you treated me back then."

Back then? Ryoma did not know what she was talking about.

Sakuno seemed to understand Ryoma's unspoken question and answered accordingly. "Back during middle school!" she said, her voice uneasy, as if she were struggling to contain her emotions. "I used to like you so much! I used to want to be your girlfriend!"

Ryoma paused. His worry was now subsequently replaced by guilt. Sakuno's middle school crush on him was no secret; even Ryoma himself was not dense enough to miss it. But now, the one who wanted her to be his girlfriend was not Sakuno, but Ryoma himself.

How the tables have turned, thought Ryoma bitterly.

"I always ran extra laps during tennis practice because I was worrying about you," said Sakuno as her voice escalated. "I made so much food for you. I always tried so hard to impress you! And you never even acknowledged me!"

His guilt was replaced by disbelief. "Wait, this was middle school! How can you hold that against me now? That was five years ago! We were still kids!"

In response, Sakuno rose from the table, grabbed her bag, and headed for the door. "I'm sorry, Echizen, but I have a lot on my mind right now," she said as she opened the door.

She turned her back on him, left the room, and shut the door.

ooooo

September 6

Dear Diary,

Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my GOD. MY LOVE LIFE IS THE WORST THING IN EXISTENCE.

Let me start from the beginning. The very first boy I've ever liked was Ryoma Echizen, back in middle school. He was cute, popular, smart, and of course excellent at tennis – my grandma's star athlete. I was only 13 at the time I first met him, which is young enough for me to be blindly obsessed with him. I used to dream about him, both when I was awake and when I was asleep. I doodled his name in the margins of my notebook during class. I learned new recipes to impress him with my food. I practiced hard at tennis to impress him. I tried all sorts of makeup and outfits to impress him. I even fooled myself into thinking that I loved him. Psh. Love, at that age. My "love" for Ryoma ended traumatically in the airport when I was 15, when he left for America.

The following year was the beginning of my time without Ryoma as a young adult. I was 16, in my first year of high school. Nightmares and depression bogged me down. Ryoma's image weakened me, made my world colorless. Presently, I'm so embarrassed at how long it took me to get over him. An entire year!

When I turned 17, other boys started asking me out. The ones who I didn't like were the ones who asked me out; the ones who I did like were never the ones to ask me out. Sometimes, in an ironic twist, a boy who I once liked would ask me out only when I stopped liking him. Needless to say, I said no to everybody. It just never felt right. There was nobody who I liked as much as I liked Ryoma.

And besides, some boys just didn't deserve a chance. Like Horio. Ewww.

My last year of high school, all I did was focus on getting into a good American school. International students have no time for boys if they want to come to the USA to study! So when I was 18, my love life was stagnant.

When I got here and met the tennis teams, I instantly was attracted to the grace of the men's singles prodigy from England, Heath Handsome. For the first time since Ryoma, I finally – FINALLY – started to seriously like somebody. Mr. Handsome, as I like to call him, is very much the opposite of Ryoma: he's talkative, jovial, and charming. Due to his looks, he's popular with girls, but I believe that he definitely has taken a liking in me as well… the way he winks at me, he doesn't do it the same way to anyone else!

And then, at 20 years old, Ryoma randomly appears again, and he asks me out. Bah! Why must he do that? Just as I feel that we've distanced ourselves healthily, he wants to close the gap. Admittedly, this is what I once wanted, for him to come up to me and say that the things he said. However, he's long overdue. I want Mr. Handsome!

With that said, I have no intention to date Ryoma. I'm sorry, but my heart has moved on. How can I like him after he was so cold to me? Sure, like he said, it was like five years ago. A long time, no doubt. But, no matter how silly it sounds, I still care about how he treated me back then.

Ugh, his asking me out has made my head run wild with emotions. It even makes my head hurt. Ryoma has a tendency to do that sort of thing – give me headaches, I mean. I had to step outside and find my favorite Bubble Tea House table for refuge. Sigh… I'll have to go back eventually, but I'll first take the time to try to sort out my thoughts.

Love,

Sakuno

ooooo

Karupin was watching his beloved caretaker. He was in an energetic conversation with the brown-haired female when the female suddenly left the room. "I'm sorry, Echizen, but I have a lot on my mind right now," was what the brown-haired female said before leaving, leaving his caretaker motionless. Even a few moments later, his caretaker was still seated at the table, no part of him displaced even a centimeter. If he had to guess, Karupin would say that his caretaker was shocked and upset.

"Meow!"

Shaken from his trance, the caretaker spotted Karupin. He stood and scooped Karupin into his arms. Dropping himself onto the couch, he stroked Karupin behind the ears. "That whole 'carpe diem' thing didn't work out too well after all," he said gruffly.

Karupin curled himself into a ball and rested his head in his caretaker's lap. "Meow!"

The caretaker continued to stroke Karupin's fur. "I feel like an idiot," he said. "What do you think, Karupin? That was a stupid move, wasn't it?"

"Meow!"

"Yeah, I thought so, too. I suppose I deserve this…"

Karupin napped soon afterward on the couch and snoozed until the sun had gone down and his caretaker had fallen asleep on the couch's other end. The noise that woke him during the night was the door creaking, opening to reveal the brown-haired female. She gently shut the door and tiptoed across the room, eyeing the caretaker's slumbering form.

"Meow!"

The brown-haired female gasped, clutching her heart until Karupin rubbed himself against her legs. "Whew, Karupin," she whispered. "You startled me! Echizen is asleep, right?"

"Meow!"

"Okay, good." The brown-haired female hoisted Karupin into her arms. "Is Echizen mad at me?"

"Meow!"

"Yeah, I thought so, too..."

ooooo

For the past week, Ryoma Echizen had not felt like himself. After asking Sakuno Ryuzaki to be his girlfriend, he saw her for no more than a moment at once. He spent most of his time in their apartment, waiting for her to spend enough time with him to hold a conversation. He wanted to speak to her, about what he did not know, but he needed to speak to her.

Sakuno, on the other hand, must have wished to never speak to him again; she actively minimized her time in his presence. Every night, Ryoma would go to bed before she would return to the apartment, and every morning, she would leave before he woke. Ryoma was sometimes convinced that Sakuno had actually moved out. Little clues, like her brown hair gathered over the shower drain and her food in the refrigerator, nonetheless reminded him that she had not left but was avoiding him.

Perhaps the only times Ryoma would see Sakuno is when she had forgotten a textbook or a gym bag. He would be at his desk studying when the sound of her key fidgeting in the door knob suddenly distracted him. When the door opened, his impulse was to turn around, make eye contact, and speak. He always only managed to watch her from the corner of his eye.

"Hey, Echizen…" she would mumble as her anxious legs carried her to her closet. She would speak again – "I forgot my…" – but her voice would drown in her discomfort. Ryoma would only see what she had forgotten when she left the room as anxiously as she came, carrying her forgotten trinket.

The Old Ryoma would not let anyone bother him so much. The Old Ryoma would not be embarrassed by being denied a date, because the Old Ryoma would always get whatever he wanted. The Old Ryoma was in control of himself and his surroundings, observing every circumstance and acting accordingly. However, the Old Ryoma had left.

The New Ryoma was different. He was bothered by Sakuno, he was embarrassed as he never had been in the past, and he had no idea what he should do. The New Ryoma regretted how he thoughtlessly followed the words of his philosophy teacher. It was completely against the measured approach that the Old Ryoma favored, and it was the reason why Ordinary Ryoma was gone and the New Ryoma was present.

Well, thought the New Ryoma, if the philosophy professor could make the Old Ryoma leave, then perhaps he could make the Old Ryoma return. On this premises, the New Ryoma made an appointment to meet with his philosophy professor.

ooooo

An old man sat in his office with his feet on the desk. On the office walls were posters of influential classical and contemporary philosophers and authors, portraits of ambiguous impressions, and oriental watercolor paintings and calligraphy. His desk bore a stainless steel Newton's Cradle, a mysterious animal's skull from Africa, and a sepia snapshot of him and his wife from the 1970's with long hair, tie-dyed shirts, and an acoustic guitar. Esoteric herbal aromas and fusion jazz swirled in the office air.

The old man was absently humming along with a trumpet solo when a knock on his door sounded.

"Come in!" he bellowed audaciously, on pitch with the trumpet solo.

A Japanese boy with nerdy thick-rimmed glasses and a tucked-in buttoned shirt tentatively stepped into the office. The boy warily took in the office's eclectic vibes, appearing to wonder if he had the right room. "Good afternoon, Professor," he said with a surprisingly deep, rich voice. "I have an appointment with you right now. Do you have a moment?"

"Oh, damn!" said the old man, taking his feet off the desk and sitting upright in his large chair. One of his Intro to Philosophy students wanted to make an arrangement with him, which had slipped his mind. "I'm sorry, I almost forgot! Have a seat."

The Japanese student, like all his students who visited him during office hours, was taken aback by the old man's strange personality. The Japanese student stiffly lowered himself into the chair as the old man lowered the music's volume and slipped on a thick pair of his own glasses. His eyes were magnified to the size of plums.

"So," said the old man, "how can I help you?"

"Professor, I was wondering about your carpe diem lecture," said the Japanese student, uncomfortable under the old man's magnified gaze.

"Whew, good!" The old man wiped his forehead with the sleeve of his plaid sports jacket. "I was afraid you were another student wanting to argue about my good versus evil lecture!"

The Japanese student's jaw stiffened. "Well… I didn't really understand some of your points for that lesson, but I'm really confused right now about carpe diem."

"Ah, carpe diem, carpe diem…" The old man stood from his chair and paced behind his desk. "Indubitably one of the most popular, most beautiful, most relevant philosophies of today! I remember when my wife and I hitchhiked across America to Washington D.C., with nothing but the clothes on our back, a guitar, and a nice bag of…"

The old man was rambling now, lost in his memories of the Civil Rights Movement and war protests. The Japanese student watched the old man pacing behind his desk, speaking aimlessly.

"… and that's why I don't eat shrimp!" finished the old man triumphantly, a satisfied smile on his face as he dropped himself back into his chair. The smile fell and was replaced by a look of questioning. "Did I answer your question?"

The Japanese student blinked. "No, Professor. I was wondering how carpe diem should be realistically carried out." His mouth curved into a frown as he adjusted his nerd glasses and tugged at his shirt's collar. "I tried it, and it turned out to be a miserable mistake. I just 'seized the day' or whatever, and now my life's so confusing…"

The old man's brow stiffened as his head nodded sternly. "I have a diagnosis for your symptoms," he said theatrically. "You are suffering from a character imbalance. Carpe diem is romanticism to a high degree. If your character leans toward rationalism, then you still need to stay in-character and think about your actions while you're instilled with carpe diem's boldness. Do you consider yourself a rationalist as opposed to a romantic?"

The Japanese student nodded without hesitation.

"Yes, that might be it. Carpe diem does not guarantee what you want to see. It only guarantees progression and some sort of result, whether it is good or bad or even neutral. You're taking a risk when you take a bite out of carpe diem. You said it didn't work out for you. Would you say that you were taking a risk when you tried to seize your day?"

Again, the Japanese student nodded.

"Ah, now this is incorporating psychology and sociology. When you take a risk and you succeed, you are lauded for making a great move. But since it's a risk, you also have a chance to fail, and when you fail, you are ridiculed for making a stupid move. You're taking the same exact risk in both circumstances, but different uncontrollable results lead to different perceptions."

As the old man paused, the Japanese student's mind wrapped itself around the old man's words.

"My solution is to try again," said the old man. "Never give up. Granted, sometimes you just need to recognize an ineffectual course of action and cut your losses short, but if you're set on it, never give up. Never, ever give up."

The Japanese student sat still, but the old man could feel that he was mentally nodding.

"Is that all?" asked the old man.

"Yes, Professor," said the student, gathering his effects. "Thank you."

"My pleasure!" said the old man grandly, cranking up his stereo and throwing his feet back onto the desk.

The Japanese student stood to leave, but the old man spoke again.

"Wait, wait! What is your name again?"

The Japanese student halted.

"Ryoma."

"You're name's Ryoma?" said the old man incredulously, his wrinkles glowing with exuberance. "Really! Like Ryoma Echizen, the tennis player?"

The Japanese student grinned in response.

"Ah, are you a fan as well?" said the old man. "Why did Echizen retire! I still can't believe it! He would have dominated Wimbledon, I say! Dominated! And then he would…"

The old man was rambling again, this time about his favorite professional athlete, but the Japanese student somehow did not mind this time. The old man kept talking and talking, and when he was finally done, the Japanese student had vanished.

The old man chuckled to himself. "I hope he gets what he wants…"

ooooo

September 27

Dear Diary,

It's been three weeks now since Ryoma asked me out. Not that I'm really counting. I just know that it's been three weeks since I've had a decent night of sleep. I try so hard to stay away from Ryoma that I don't get back to our room until after midnight, and I leave at the crack of dawn. Anytime I see him, he's asleep on the couch.

Sleeping Ryoma is nice. He doesn't snore, he's not running around in a skimpy pair of boxer briefs. He wears a white undershirt and plaid pajama pants. I once swore that I would punch Ryoma in the wiener if I saw him in boxer briefs. Thankfully, I won't have to do that.

But that's one of the few things I'm currently thankful for. My lack of a comfortable living style is really getting to me. The food I eat is usually from a food vendor on the street, and thus unhealthy. I'm spending most of my time studying with friends, at the library, or at tennis practice. And of course, I'm getting tired all the time! It's starting to affect my tennis…

I'm considering just spending more time at the apartment and putting up with Ryoma. It's just that everything will be so awkward around him now! However, I might just have to suck it up and deal with the awkwardness head-on. My tennis is starting to suffer, so I'd better suck it up before my grades start to suffer as well.

I'd rather put up with awkwardness around Ryoma than let my grades AND my tennis suffer!

Love,

Sakuno

ooooo

Ordinarily, the honking and revving of Philadelphia traffic woke Ryoma Echizen each morning. On the first Saturday of October, a different sound woke him. It was a soft, peaceful breathing pattern coming from the direction of the bed.

Ryoma's eyes snapped open. Sitting up from the couch, he turned and found that Sakuno Ryuzaki was still asleep. This was the first time he had seen Sakuno sleeping, he realized. Her slim figure was curled on its side, a blanket covering her to the neck. Her hair ran wild over her pillow. Her soft face bore a small grin, as if she were having a good dream.

Sakuno's cell phone, which sat on the bedside table, suddenly rang. Her eyes opened slowly, a look of annoyance drifting over her countenance. A hand snatched the phone and held it to her ear.

"Hello?" she croaked sleepily. "Yeah, I know… Wait, what? I'm late? Oh, shit! I'm coming right now!"

Panicking and instantly alert, Sakuno was about to leap from her bed when she noticed Ryoma staring at her from the couch. "AHHHH!" she screamed, holding her covers tight around her body. "Echizen! Look away!"

Ryoma blinked. "Why?"

Sakuno's face flushed. "Because… because I'm topless right now!"

Ryoma's face too turned red. At the thought of a topless Sakuno, Ryoma was rendered speechless.

"ECHIZEN!" wailed Sakuno. "Why aren't you looking away? Oh, damn it! Never mind, just give me your shirt! Yes, your shirt, take it off and throw it to me!"

Ryoma hastily complied. He yanked his white cotton undershirt and tossed it to Sakuno. She hid under the covers like a tortoise in a shell, fidgeting as she pulled the shirt on. When she surfaced from the depths of her sheets and pillows, Ryoma gaped openly: his small undershirt constricted her chest almost like spandex and reminded him of her voluptuousness, while below her waist was nothing more than a simple pair of solid black underwear.

Sakuno could feel his hot gaze on her. "D-Don't look at me!" she said, wanting to bark rather than stutter at Ryoma. She grabbed a bag and ran to the bathroom, threw on some clothes, and reemerged wearing her varsity tennis warm-ups. Her hair stood at odd angles, and her cheeks were still rosy red.

As Sakuno grabbed her tennis bag, Ryoma studied the embroidery on her jacket. "You play tennis?" he said, his eyes wide. "For Penn?"

"Yes," she said as she sprinted toward the door, "and I'm late for a match!"

The door slammed shut, leaving the apartment filled with overwhelming silence. Karupin approached Ryoma and hopped into his lap. "Meow!"

Ryoma scratched the nape of Karupin's neck. "Wow… Ryuzaki is wearing my shirt… and she plays varsity tennis… and she sleeps without a shirt! Did you know that, Karupin?"

"Meow!"

Ryoma made a playful face. "There's no way you knew! You just want some food…"

"Meow!"

ooooo

Ring! Ring! Ring!

Ring! Ring! Ring!

Ryoma Echizen: "Echizen speaking."

Agent: "Ryoma, baby! The killer! The champion! Half man, half amazing! How are you?"

Ryoma: "What? Why… Oh god, I don't understand why you keep calling me…"

Agent: "Hey now, Ryoma, baby, I know you're not happy to hear my voice, but hear me out, okay?"

Ryoma: "…"

Agent: "Alright, thanks, baby! So we already know about my amazing skills as your agent. I lassoed countless deals and dollars for you. Now, your girlfriend –"

Ryoma: "She's not my girlfriend!"

Agent: "Okay, okay, then, the girl who you've been seen with. The hot brunette. She's really done you good! And that was all due to my tip! Remember, I was the one who told you to keep her by your side, and it worked! Your picture is everywhere! However, you could be making a lot more. I see that you've been managing yourself, but I can help you do much, much better."

Ryoma: "You know that I don't trust you."

Agent: "… Well, let me cut to the chase. If you choose to forgive any of the 'problems' we've had in the past, I'll cut my commission in half and offer my services for only five percent! I promise, I won't do anything unsavory again, or you can sue my ass! You'll be making so much more, and I'll take less! You can live a life as a fulltime popular culture icon and model instead of a stressful athlete. What do you say?"

Ryoma: "…"

Agent: "It's a good deal, right? Win-win? Because after all, the 'problem' wasn't that big of a problem anyway… You in? You know it's a good deal!"

Ryoma: "… Indeed, it's a good deal…

Agent: "Yes!"

Ryoma: "… but I do not accept. I cannot commit to being a fulltime popular culture icon."

Agent: "What? Ah, why? Come on! Why can't you commit?"

Ryoma: "I'm occupied."

Agent: "By what? By the way, where the hell are you? You just kinda disappeared from the world! Last I heard, you were in Philadelphia."

Ryoma: "I'm at a tennis match."

Agent: "A match? Where at?"

Ryoma: "My location is none of your business. I hate to reject you offer, but as I said, I cannot make a fulltime commitment."

Agent: "Ryoma, baby, think about the money!"

Ryoma: "Money isn't everything."

Agent: "… Did you seriously just say that? That's just some idealist bullshit and you know it!"

Ryoma: "We'll see. Our conversation is over. Call me again in December."

Agent: "But – grr… Okay, whatever… Take it easy, Ryoma…"

Slam!

Dial tone…

ooooo

6 October

Dear Diary,

Ugh, what a horrible day! First, my alarm doesn't go off and I sleep in. I luckily got a call to wake me up… but was unlucky to wake up as Ryoma woke up. Gar, it was so embarrassing! I almost left my bed wearing nothing but my underwear, and Ryoma would have seen my boobs! But just in time I saw him staring (pervert) and forced him to give me his shirt.

I really need to stop sleeping in only a pair of underwear… it's not safe to do when my roommate is somebody who asked me out.

My unluckiness continued as I realized that his shirt was super-tight. As I got out of bed, Ryoma (pervert) just kept on staring! The shirt was so tight that it probably left little for Ryoma's imagination. So I just got changed really quickly and left.

I arrived just on time, but not without an embarrassing public scolding from my coach. Without properly warming up or eating breakfast, I had to start my match right away. That girl who I played today crushed me… Ugh! It was so embarrassing! I was in no condition to compete, and I might even drop from Singles 2 to Singles 3!

What's even more annoying is that when Ryoma took his shirt off, I saw his upper half naked. He is still rather attractive. Not cool.

What's most annoying is that I forgot my sports bra. Ryoma's shirt, which I happened to still be wearing, was pretty tight around my boobs and gave me some support, so I just folded the bottom part of the shirt up, over my chest, and wore the shirt under my uniform as a makeshift bra. Waa! I had to wear Ryoma's shirt as a bra! :(

What's kind of annoying but really just weird is that I heard Ryoma's voice in the stands. I had already finished my match and was just sitting with the team when I heard his ringtone and his voice say "Echizen speaking." Later, he said, "I'm at a tennis match… my location is none of your concern." I tried to subtly look for him in the crowd and I spotted him. Finding Ryoma in the stands is actually easier done than said, because almost nobody watches varsity women's tennis and because he was wearing those dorky glasses again. I tell myself that I don't care that Ryoma saw me play tennis, but knowing that he saw me lose badly is really humiliating.

Ugh. Today flat-out sucked. I hope tomorrow's a better day…

Love,

Sakuno

ooooo

Sakuno Ryuzaki sat at her favorite table of the bubble tea café. Her match had gone horribly, and she consequently spilled her emotions onto the pages of her diary. Finishing her latest entry, she closed her diary and placed it in her bag. The taste of blueberry latte bubble tea soothed her as she sipped the final drops of her beverage through a colorful straw.

No matter how bad her day was, blueberry latte bubble tea would always keep her happy until the last drop. When nothing but air came from her straw, she sighed; blueberry latte bubble tea could not satisfy her further when it was already in her stomach. She counted the coins from her purse and regretted having not enough money for a second drink.

"Here, Ryuzaki," said a deep, mysterious voice. "I got you this."

A tall glass of blueberry latte bubble tea was placed on the table by her side. Sakuno's eyes went wide at the drink, and then peered upward to see Ryoma Echizen seat himself at the table's other end.

"Rough match today, Ryuzaki," said Ryoma. He had a tall glass of bubble tea himself from which he drank.

Sakuno paused another moment to take in her surroundings. Ryoma had just bought her another beverage and had sat down to sympathize with her. His gesture was uncharacteristically kind, and it was just what she needed to feel better. Although their relation was strained, Sakuno was glad to have company, even if it was the company of Ryoma.

"Thanks, Echizen," she said, her expression slowly brightening. "It really was a rough match. I was tired and hungry the entire time. Completely unprepared."

Ryoma nodded. His eyes hardened under his glasses as he spoke. "Ryuzaki. I apologize about my outbreak a while ago…"

Sakuno was shocked by this admission. She had not expected Ryoma to ever acknowledge his asking her to be his girlfriend. "Don't worry about it," she said, waving dismissively. "We all say things like that which we don't mean."

Ryoma removed his glasses. The gesture was simple, but removing his glasses changed his appearance from that of a dork to that of a sharp international professional. It gave him an air of gravity.

"You're right, I didn't mean to say it. But I want you to know that I do like you, I would still like to go out and get dinner with you some day, and I'm sorry for being so rude in the past."

Unsure of how to react, Sakuno dropped her gaze and sipped her bubble tea. "What… what am I supposed to say?"

Ryoma shrugged. "I don't know. I really wanted you to know. I was seizing the moment to tell you."

Sakuno nodded sadly. "Okay. I'm sorry, Echizen, but…"

Ryoma leaned toward Sakuno. But what?

"… but I've gotten over you years ago."

ooooo

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Author's notes: Sorry this chapter took so long; I had computer problems. I named Mr. Handsome after Heath Ledger, whose last performance was brilliant, terrifying, and strangely inspiring in my opinion. Also, does anybody know if Karupin is a boy? I always thought he was, but I'm not actually sure… But anyway, it's my birthday right now, and I'd love to see more reviews as presents; I might even update sooner! (wink wink)